MADRID.-The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía presents the first individual exhibition in Spain on the work of artist Paul Sietsema (Los Angeles 1968). The exhibition forms part of Fisuras, a program produced by the Museo Reina Sofía that aims to encourage artists to propose alternative viewpoints on the museum.

Sietsema presents his reflections on practices in modern Western art and its discursive, ideological milieu in an exhibition that brings together large-format drawings as well as his film Figure 3. During the five years required to produce Figure 3, the artist documented the reconstruction of various artifacts from ancient cultures, which have been reconstructed from photographed replicas and made with different materials than their originals. Far from desiring to supplant the original pieces with his works, Sietsema is instead interested in illustrating the passing of time and the conversations established between both representations. The artist has chosen a 16 mm format to film these objects, one that bears an inherent distance when representing and translating them, as well as features known to anthropological documentary, scientific photography and experimental film.

On the other hand, the drawings shown in this exhibition provide references to the artists work by illustrating objects from his own workshop, and they suggest reflections on the economic and colonial expansion of the West. They are accompanied by a projection of Lecture Film, where the artist reflects on his work and processes of production.